Forgotten Dreams
by cherryblossom8
Summary: Eight years after Li Syaoran's return to Hong Kong, he comes back to find Sakura. But each time she sees Syaoran, she discovers her heart is not with her current boyfriend, but with a person who has returned from her past.
1. Prologue

**Forgotten Dreams**

By Cherry Blossoms

DISCLAMER: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, any of the names used here, etc. They belong to CLAMP and its rightful owners. 

Eight years after Li Syaoran's return to Hong Kong, he comes back to find Sakura. She has a boyfriend, but each time she sees Syaoran, she discovers her heart is not with her boyfriend, but with a person who has returned from her past.

**Prologue**

_Tomoeda__International__Airport___

            Sakura looked around. _Where is Li-Kun?_ She wondered silently. Turning, she spotted him. He was at the gate, anxiously looking around. 

            She ran to him. "Syaoran! Syaoran!" she shouted, waving to him. His eyes widened at the site of her.

            "What are you doing here?" he asked, though he was not happy to see her. 

            Sakura smiled brightly. "Just here to see you off," she said softly after she had caught her breath. "I got ride with Tomoyo…"

            "You came here to see me off?" Li Syaoran's face reddened noticeably. Sakura nodded. 

            "Here's a letter to you," she added, handing him a small envelope. "Don't open it until you're on the plane, promise?" Syaoran nodded, and they linked pinkies to seal the promise. They locked eyes. 

            Noticing that the other person's face was blushing, both pulled away hastily, and then simultaneously looked down at their shoes. 

            "Last call for flight UA35936 to Hong Kong!" 

            "Well, that's my flight," Syaoran said heavily. He looked up again. 

            "Yeah," Sakura noted, a little sad. She brightened up once more. "Be sure to write letters! I'll be waiting."

            Syaoran raised his eyebrows. "I have to write to you?" he said in mock agony. "No!!!!"  They both laughed. "So this is it."

            Sakura nodded. "Yeah," she repeated, "this is it…" 

            Syaoran nodded to her. "Goodbye." He turned and started to walk away. Sakura watched him leave. Then instinctively, she ran to him and hugged him. Syaoran stopped, tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall…He had to be strong and confident, not only for Sakura, but for himself as well. 

            "Don't go…"Sakura whispered, and then slowly let go. Syaoran almost wanted to turn around and hug her back, but he didn't. 

            "Goodbye," he said once more, and boarded the plane. Sakura watched him go, and a few silent tear drops fell down her face.

            "Goodbye, Syaoran," she whispered, and walked away. 


	2. Chapter 1

**Forgotten Dreams**

**By Cherry Blossom**

DISCLAMER: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, any of the names used here, etc. They belong to CLAMP and its rightful owners. 

Eight years after Li Syaoran's return to Hong Kong, he comes back to find Sakura. But each time she sees Syaoran, she discovers her heart is not with her current boyfriend, but with a person who has returned from her past.

**Chapter One**

_Eight years later…_

            Sakura Kinomoto opened her eyes and smiled. "What a nice way to start the day!" she exclaimed, inhaling fresh air deeply. 

            "Not really, sleepyhead," a voice proclaimed. 

            Sakura scowled. "Kero-chan!? Have you been up all night playing video games again?"

            The stuffed animal like creature laughed and shook his head. "No. I'm not that stupid. I got up at the crack of dawn." He dodged a flying pillow from Sakura. 

            Touya Kinomoto paraded into the room, "Wake u-" He stopped as he noticed Kero, who immediately pretended to be a toy. "Ha ha…very clever," he exclaimed, "you still have this old thing?"

            Sakura shrugged. "I like it," came her reply. 

            "Hmm…don't you think it would be better to sell it?" Touya asked her. Even though Sakura shook her head violently, Touya nevertheless chucked it out her window.

            "Kero-chan!" Sakura cried, immediately springing to look where her guardian had landed. Touya shook his head, thinking his sister had gone mad. Turning, he stalked out of the room.

            "Come on down and eat breakfast…Tomoyo's waiting downstairs."

            "Hoooeeee?! What time is it?"

            "Ten o' clock," came the prompt reply, " now please, be a good Card Captor and rescue poor little Kero-chan down here!"

            Sakura reddened in embarrassment. "Oh…sorry," she said, picking Kero-chan tenderly out of a bush. She hastily changed into a white and blue dress and charged downstairs.

            Tomoyo Daidouji was already waiting for her, as her brother had informed her. Sakura wolfed down some miso soup, grabbed her friend's arm, and dragged her out the door.  

            "Matte!!!" Tomoyo exclaimed, shaking herself free of Sakura's grip. "Do you even know where you are going?"

            "Uh..iee…Gomen nasai…" Tomoyo nodded.

            "Now come on, I want to go to meet Takashi and Eriol…"

            After walking for quite a while, the two arrived at the Tomoeda Shopping Mall. The girls spotted the other two they were supposed to meet. 

            "Eriol!!!!!!!!!" Tomoyo exclaimed, completely forgetting Sakura. She ran to give her boyfriend a hug.

            "Ohayo, Takashi-kun," Sakura said softly and bowed deeply. The two had been dating for nearly a month. 

            Chiharu seemed to arrive out of nowhere. She used to be Takashi's girlfriend, but the two broke up long ago. "Ohayo!" she exclaimed to Tomoyo and Sakura. 

            "Ohayo," Sakura and Tomoyo replied. 

_Tomoeda__International__Airport___

            A tall male stepped into the terminal. He looked around, and nodded. An older man approached, carrying several bags. "To the apartment, Master Li?" he inquired. With another curt nod, the two started to exit the building.

            They reached the parking lot. The younger one raised his arm, and abruptly an empty yellow taxi stopped in front of them. As the older man directed the cab driver to their destination, the younger male relaxed and leaned back in his seat. He was well built. He smiled as he remembered the days when he was back in school. Girls practically fell at his feet. 

            He had been here before. Lived here, in fact, for two years. Yeah, those were the old days, the days that no longer existed. He still remembered the day when he met her. The girl who would be help him in the Clow Cards…only she would be the one in the end to achieve his goal. 

[BEGIN FLASHBACK]

They stood in a corner of the schoolyard.

The girl trembled. "Umm…what?"

He held a board with kanji written on it. "The king of gods commands. Gods appear from all directions. Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, thunder, wind, lightning. The new command. Gods appear from all directions. The new command. Soft thunder, spinning lightning. Obey my command!" A beam of light burst out of his board and shot toward the girl. "I knew it! You have Clow cards, don't you?"

The girl shook her head. "How…?"

He smirked. "This Rashindan was made to find the Clow cards. Out with them!" he exclaimed.

She looked surprised. "What?"

He held out his hand. "The Clow cards," he repeated.

She shook her head. "I can't! I promised Kero-chan…that I'd capture all the cards!" 

"Kero-chan…?" He was confused. "Do you mean Cerberus, the guardian beast?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you know…?:"

He was confused, distressed…. "If Cerberus is here, why is he letting this kid keep the cards?"

            "Kero-chan doesn't have enough magic. He can't get big. That's why…"she replied.

            "The cards with Cerberus' sun, fire, and earth symbols power him. You don't have any of those cards?" he exclaimed, astonished.

            She looked at him. "No…."

            "How long have you been searching for them?

            "Since September," she answered.

            "You've been looking for them for two months and you still haven't captured all of them?"

            "That's true, but…hey! How do you know about the Clow cards?"

            He scowled. "That's none of your business. I'll capture the remaining Clow cards! Hand them over!" he demanded.

            The girl put a small hand on her blouse pocket. "No! I can't! This is between me and Kero-chan."

            He nodded. "I see. So they're in that pocket." He approached her. Another girl appeared suddenly.

            "Sakura-chan?" the new girl gasped. "Sakura-chan!!!"

            "Hand them over!" he demanded again. 

[END FLASHBACK]

            He smiled to himself as the car pulled to a halt. "Master Li, we've arrived," the elder man announced, opening the door. 

            He stepped out of the car. "Thank you Wei. I'll go up first…" 

            He went up the stairs, counting  the steps mentally. _One…two…three……………………………seventeen…eighteen…nineteen…twenty…_

            He stopped, looking up. A familiar door stared back at him. He chuckled and inserted an old key and unlocked the door. He opened it slowly and looked around. The apartment surprisingly was sparkling clean. Then he suddenly remembered. The maid still came to clean the place every week.

            Wei stepped into the apartment, carrying the luggage. "Home sweet home, eh, Master Li?" he said softly, and turned to put the bags in the room.

            "Yeah," the young man said to himself. "Welcome home, Li Syaoran."  


	3. Chapter 2

**Forgotten Dreams**

By Cherry Blossoms

DISCLAMER: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, any of the names used here, etc. They belong to CLAMP and its rightful owners. 

Eight years after Li Syaoran's return to Hong Kong, he comes back to find Sakura. But each time she sees Syaoran, she discovers her heart is not with her current boyfriend, but with a person who has returned from her past.

**Chapter Two**

_A local park_

Syaoran looked around. It was good to be back in Japan. He gazed at the familiar sakura trees in the park just a block from his house, planted in a straight, long line. He used to come here. Once he even came with her. Yes, he remembered. He remembered every little detail there was to know about this town. A cool autumn breeze blew his way. Syaoran buttoned up his coat. _Don't want to get sick_, he thought to himself, and absent mindedly took out a dark green scarf from his coat pocket, hanging it around his neck; it was far too short to go all the way around. 

He had spent the entire day unpacking, cooking, cleaning. He cleaned, even though the place was perfectly spotless. Syaoran wasn't even sure why he wanted to cleaned; he did what his instincts told him to do. Perhaps it was to keep his mind off something. He shrugged to himself. 

Perhaps.

One by one, the street lamps began to light as the sky darkened. Syaoran noticed. Ah, time for dinner. He got up from the park bench and started to walk home. 

_Restaurant_

Sakura smiled at Takashi. Life was wonderful. Takashi, Sakura, Tomoyo, Eriol, and Chiharu were finishing udon. 

Tomoyo poked Sakura suddenly. She turned, annoyed. "What is it, Tomoyo-chan?" she asked. 

            "It's time to go home," she whispered to Sakura. For emphasis she shoved her watch in front of Sakura's eyes.

            Sakura ignored the watch. "We're having a good time," she responded, "why rush home?"

            "It's half past ten."

            "So?" Suddenly Sakura realized what Tomoyo had just announced. Her eyes widened, and she hurridly picked up her purse. "Nani!?" she exclaimed. "Gomen nassai, Takashi-kun, I must go."

            He glanced at her quizzically, or at least that was how it looked like; he never really opened his eyes. "Doushite?"

            "Onii-chan expects me to be home by eleven," Sakura explained, "and he doesn't like to wait…"

            "It's not that late," her boyfriend replied.

            Chiharu slapped Takashi on the side of his head. "Sakura-chan lives across town, baka."

            "Damare!" Takashi shot back at his friend, which earned him another slap. "Tomare…."

            "There's no time to waste!" Tomoyo cried, giving Sakura a small push. "Go!"

            "I'm going," Sakura grumbled, but obediently directed her feet to the door. If she was late, she was really in for it. She was aware that Touya Kinomoto was very firm on curfew rules.

_Somewhere on the Streets_

            Sakura ran as fast as she could. This was it, the home stretch. 

            She was running so fast they didn't notice a lone figure walking slowly only a few feet away. As a result, she crashed into him. 

            "HOOOOOOOEEEEE!!!!!!!!" Sakura yelled, struggling to not fall down. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful.

            Suddenly she stopped falling. "Nani?" she whispered. Her nose was three inches from cold, hard concrete. Sakura realized that the stranger she had crashed into had caught her. She stood up swiftly. "A…arigatou…" 

            The stranger nodded. Her eyes met his; they were strangely familiar. She shook it off. Sakura bowed. "Arigatou," she repeated.

            "You're welcome," the stranger said, his brown eyes smiling. 

            "Do I…do I know you?" she asked, green eyes questioning him.

            "What do you think?" he replied, chuckling softly. "I'll give you a hint." He drew something from his pocket, something wrapped in tissue paper, and put it in her hand. "Here's your hint." He walked off slowly.

            Sakura watched him walk away. She unwrapped it slowly… "Huh? A…little bear?"  

_Apartment_

            "Master Li…"

            "Hm?" Syaoran closed the door. 

            Wei handed him a small bag. "You forgot to unpack this." 

           Syaoran thanked him, and headed to his bedroom. He unzipped it quickly, and took out several items. A shirt, socks, pants…and a small pink bear.

            A few minutes later he emerged from the bathroom, dressed in his pajamas. Syaoran turned off the light, and got into bed. 

            Suddenly he switched on the light again, picked up the bear, and turned off the light. He held it close as he drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**Forgotten Dreams**

By Cherry Blossom

DISCLAMER: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, any of the names used here, etc. They belong to CLAMP and its rightful owners. 

Eight years after Li Syaoran's return to Hong Kong, he comes back to find Sakura. But each time she sees Syaoran, she discovers her heart is not with her current boyfriend, but with a person who has returned from her past.

**Chapter Two**

_Penguin__Park___

"Sakura-chan!" 

"Huh?" Sakura looked up. "What do you want Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo eyed her suspiciously. "You know, ever since last night you've been acting strange. Did something happen on the way home?"

Sakura's eyes widened at the mention of the night before, yet she shook her head slowly. "Iee…nothing happened."

Tomoyo glared at her. "Hmph. What a good friend you are…you never were great at lying anyway. Now are you going to tell me what happened or are do I have to do something before you do?"

Sakura sighed. "Nothing happened," she insisted. But her own actions betrayed her mouth. She took out the small bear, the one the stranger had given her. _Here's your hint…_his words had echoed in her mind over and over again throughout the night, and most of the day as well.

"HOW KAWAII!!!!" Tomoyo shrieked as she spotted the bear. "Where'd you get it?"

Sakura remained silent, but not for long. "At the fair," she quickly replied, not wanting Tomoyo to sense that she was not telling the truth.

"Oh….do you think you could get me one?" Tomoyo asked. For once, she did not spot the lie. Sakura shrugged, her eyes sad.

Sakura faced Tomoyo. "Tomoyo-chan…"

"Hmmmm?" Her friend was absorbed in a fashion magazine.

"What…what if someone, you know, that you used to lo-"

Tomoyo snuck a peek at her watch. "AAIIIEEEEEE!" she exclaimed. "I'm supposed to meet Eriol at the library! Are you coming?" Before Sakura had a chance to answer her friend was halfway down the block. She smiled to herself, then felt sadness- Tomoyo had somebody, while her love was so far, so far away.

They promised to write to each other, and they did. She wrote a letter almost every single day. The letters from him came almost daily as well. Then they came less and less often, until at last, the stopped completely. She had given up hope. He was sure to have found some beautiful Cantonese girl and married her. They probably had a large apartment in Hong Kong, where they could see all the city lights at night. 

Sakura walked to the swings and sat on one of them. Ah, the good old swings. Some things would never change, right? But people changed. He had changed, and so had she. Her fingers traced the rusted chain that held the swings up. Back then she would make up excuses. He was busy. He didn't have time to write. He didn't have time to buy more paper. He was out of town. It was as if she would never give up on him, like she still believed that someday he would come back to her, like her knight in shining armor. He would come back and kiss her and everything would be alright. But deep down, a voice told her that she was living a dream, a dream that would never be able to come true. It was that voice that told her that he would never walk into her life again. It was the voice that told her the reality of the situation.

They had started separate lives, lives where they would never have to remember the Card Captor days again. 

_Apartment_

Syaoran lay on his bed, thinking.

He was thinking about the girl he had bumped into last night. He was sure it was hers; he had sensed her pink aura. He tossed the pink teddy bear. Up, down, up, down, up, down. He sighed. _Sakura…when will I meet you again?_

It occurred to him that perhaps eight years really was too long. Too long to make amends, too long for a happy ending for both of them. Was it better this way? Was it better to remain a stranger? 

Up, down, up, down…

No. It was his feelings for her that had driven him back to Japan in the first place. He wanted to be with her forever, he wanted to make her smile, to make her laugh. 

Up down, up, down…

Syaoran stood up, putting the bear down on his desk, deciding to go for a walk. After all, it was a walk late last night that had made Sakura bump into him, wasn't it?


End file.
